Microsoft Posts Critical Security Fixes

By JESSICA MINTZ, AP Business Writer

Microsoft Corp. released four critical patches Tuesday to plug
security holes in several versions of its Windows operating system,
Internet Explorer Web browser and other programs.

The patches that carried Microsoft's highest security warning all are
to prevent malicious hackers from remotely taking control of computers
without permission.

Three of the patches aim to protect Windows users who unwittingly
expose their computers to attack by visiting Web pages infected with
malicious code, or look at similarly tainted e-mails with Outlook
Express or Windows Mail. A fourth patch prevents hackers from gaining
remote access to PCs by installing a specially crafted program.

Two of these critical updates fix holes in the company's newest
operating system, Windows Vista, which Microsoft has touted as the
most secure ever.

Vista went on sale to consumers at the end of January; in April,
Microsoft broke its once-monthly update schedule with an emergency fix
after Microsoft and security experts found that hackers were
exploiting a hole in the way Vista and other versions of Windows
handle animated cursor files.

Besides the critical fixes, Microsoft released a patch for its Visio
program for making diagrams and a vulnerability in Windows that could
allow unauthorized users to break into computers to steal passwords
and other user information.

Microsoft also released seven non-security, high-priority updates
Tuesday, including a monthly update to a tool that removes harmful
software from PCs.

On the Net:

http://www.microsoft.com/security

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press.

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